Men and women suffer from edema and complications of phlebitis and Stasis ulcers as well as other venous inflammatory diseases during protracted bed confinement whether from accidents, fractures or extended illnesses. Post surgical convalescence for certain patients prescribes wearing some form of elastic bandages, elastic surgical support stockings or other means for preventing conditions of phlebitis or other venous inflammatory conditions and possible complications that may be developed in non-ambulatory or disabled patients.
Women during prenatal and postnatal care have experienced a tendency to encounter swelling and pain in their legs generated by edema and have found a measure of relief by wearing some types of support or surgical stockings. Others who have experienced "tired legs" have found some relief by wearing hosiery that has a degree of retractive or compressive force.
The above-noted application describes a therapeutic garment that is knit with bare elastomeric and non-elastomeric yarns which seeks to overcome some of the disadvantages and objections to certain of the presently available commercial products.
Many of the objections encountered by women particularly in wearing surgical support stockings or elastic bandages has been generated by the objectionable appearance of the rather course construction of the leg coverings on the leg of a wearer.
With the introduction of torque thermoplastic yarns and other textured yarns that have been available in more recent years, stretchable nylon stockings have afforded wearers a measure of retractive or compressive force when properly proportioned to the leg volume of the wearer. Elastomeric yarns have also been used advantageously in support-type stockings in combination with stretchable nylon yarns usually with the spandex yarns being covered and laid-in or knit-in in selected courses of the stocking. In some types of support stockings, covered spandex yarns have been employed rather extensively to provide a desired degree of retractive force. Some stockings have been produced in which bare spandex has been laid-in without providing the high compressive forces disired or the graduated retractive forces throughout the leg of the wearer in the vital regions below the knee as well as above the knee.
Most support stocking that are generally available commercially have also been found to be objectionable by reason of the lack of control of the tension in the yarns to provide graduated degrees of retractive force in the foot, ankle, calf, knee and thigh areas on the leg of the wearer. Furthermore, no provision has been made to relieve the compressive force about the toe area for increased comfort.
In those support stockings that have employed bare spandex or elastomeric yarns, such yarns have been exposed to the leg of the wearer and provide an objectionable clammy or rubber feel or hand. Spandex yarns tend to snag readily when exposed, and minimal abrasion has resulted in severance and deterioration of the entire stocking when one or more of the spandex yarns is ruptured or severed in any portion of the stocking.
There is also a further objection in the use of many surgical support stockings as well elastic bandages which have tended to overlap or wrinkle in the instep portion and thereby pinch the wearer's skin after protracted periods of use.
It has also been determined that for some patients suffering from edema and complications such as phlebitis, thrombophlebitis and other complications that develop in chronically disabled patients that the binding action of the welt portion of a stocking must be adjusted for either greater or less compressive or retractive forces. Some approaches have been made in this area and the present invention is directed toward still another approach to achieve the objective of relieving or overcoming objections to presently available support or surgical stockings. Other objections to the use of stockings of this type include the tendency of the thigh-length versions to roll or slide down the leg of the wearer.
It is an objective of this invention to provide a therapeutic stocking in which spandex or elastomeric yarns are knit in conjunction with non-elastomeric yarns to provide a retractive or compressive force on the leg of a wearer and to incorporate a soft and flexible but relatively inelastic panel in the welt portion of the stocking to provide a compressive force on the upper inner thigh area on the leg of a wearer. This welt insert would be lined with a material such as polyurethane foam which would provide resistance to rolling down as well as provide a high coefficient of friction which would inhibit the tendency to slide down the leg, as this region of the stocking exerts very low pressure on the limb.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a therepeutic stocking that is made on a circular knitting machine using elastomeric and non-elastomeric yarns for a relatively sheer stocking to be worn by patients and others having venous inflammatory diseases and in which the welt portion is provided with an insert panel having a relatively soft inner surface which contacts the upper inner thigh of the wearer and in which the insert panel in the welt portion is relatively inelastic and may be worn for prolonged periods to alleviate leg pain and swelling.
Still another objective of this invention is to provide a therepeutic stocking in which elastomeric and non-elastomeric yarns are knit on a circular knitting machine under suitable tensions to provide graduated compressive retractive forces throughout the stocking when on the leg of a wearer and in which the welt portion of the stocking is provided with a relatively inelastic but highly flexible and soft insert panel securely fastened to an opening in the welt portion.
Yet another objective of this invention is the provision of a process for producing a therapeutic stocking knit of elastomeric and non-elastomeric yarns having a welt portion with a welt insert panel that is relatively soft and inelastic to provide a suitable retractive force on the inner upper thigh area on the leg of a wearer.
Other objectives of this invention and many of the attendant advantages will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the knitting art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and detailed description of the therapeutic stocking and method of producing it.